. >> what if the fiscal cliff talks goes down what impact will that go on consumer spending. >> if our tax go up and our expenses go up, then we have less discretionary income and 70% of the u.s. economy is driven by the consumers, by us. so that is really important that we absolutely focus on economic growth and don't penalize the consumers going forward. >> so you're saying it would have an impact on your business? >> i think it absolutely would because if our discretionary income is going to be less and we're paying more tax we will have less discretionary income for things like everything. including aublings. >> so what kind of contingency plan is ford making in case we do go over the cliff? >> well, our plan has always been to match our production to the real demand. and we have a very flexible manufacturing system. so you know, if we didn't get this solved and we didn't have as many sales, we would lower our production to meet that real demand like we have in the past. >> looking to the new year, the business environment, consumer sentiment, how are things shaping up for ford? >>